"Cabaret" is the title song of the 1966 musical of the same name, sung by the character Sally Bowles. It was composed by John Kander, with lyrics by Fred Ebb.
In the musical, the song is performed by the character Sally Bowles in a night club setting in Weimar Germany in 1931. Her lover has told her that he is taking her back to America so that they can raise their baby together in safety. Sally protests as she thinks their life in Berlin is wonderful and she states politics have nothing to do with them or their affairs. After a heated row, Sally goes on stage singing “Cabaret” (“life is a cabaret, old chum”), thus confirming her decision to live in carefree ignorance of the impending problems in Germany.
The version of the song used in the musical includes a verse beginning:
"I used to have a girlfriend known as Elsie
With whom I shared
Four sordid rooms in Chelsea..."
The verse goes on to describe her friend's prostitution, alcoholism and early death. This section is often omitted in commercial recordings of the song by other artists, for example in the recording by Louis Armstrong.[1]
A review by Robert Feldberg on NorthJersey.com explains Michelle Williams' interpretation of the song in the 2014 Broadway revival in relation to the musical's plot:[2]
AllMusic wrote that the 1972 film "contains some definitive [Liza] Minnelli performances, particularly her rendition of the title song".[3]
Reviews of the 2014 Broadway revival included: The Guardian described the song as "the hardest scene in the show, so shopworn as to have long ago collapsed into kitsch".[4] Broadway World wrote Michelle Williams's "version of the title song has a wrenching, dead-eyed quality that hauntingly undercuts its light lyrics".[5] It has been described as "stirring"[6] and "jaunty".[2]
| Chart (1966) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Bubbling Under the Hot 100[20] | 129 |
| U.S. Billboard Easy Listening[21] | 25 |
| Chart (1967) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Bubbling Under the Hot 100 | 118 |
| U.S. Billboard Easy Listening[22] | 13 |
| Chart (1968) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada RPM Top Singles[23] | 82 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100[24] | 72 |
| U.S. Billboard Easy Listening[25] | 13 |
| U.S. Cash Box Top 100[26] | 96 |
